Fiscal Responsibility

I just sat with a complete stranger while be doled out an impressive case against my ability to provide for my children. I was asked questions such as, "have you and your husband formulated a plan to finance the college educations of three children graduating within five years of each other?" Uh, nope, not even close. So here I am, musing over homework habits, over-scheduled children, and whole grain snacks via my blog only to learn that the small stuff may not be enough. I tried to sound responsible, thinking hard about his latest question. What if my kids do really well and want to go to MIT? For the first time, I allowed the frightening reality behind the financial planner's questions to take hold. Can college tuition costs continue to escalate unchecked? Will community colleges become the new state schools? Can kids grab some credits online for huge savings? At forty, I feel like an infant - clinging to life's basics because they are all I know. But what if I fail my children because I'm too scared to plan for them, or too scared to fill my financial holes. We may end up relying on loans, refinancing the house, or applying the best bang-for-your-buck criteria when choosing schools for our kids. But when the time comes, we need to have actually thought about all this stuff.